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Housing on mental health to-do list Dalhousie University physicians sign one-year contract to provide psychiatric care at Stanton Lyndsay Herman Northern News Services Published Wednesday, Sept 26, 2012
It will also look at housing conditions, social programs and mental health education which could help those suffering from mental illness be as independent and healthy as possible. "I think it's important to recognize when people have either addictions or mental-illness issues, in order for people to do well, in order for them to recover from these illnesses ... to reach their maximum potential in terms of independence, you need a whole range of supports and services," said Dr. Peter Croxall, assistant professor at the Dalhousie University department of psychiatry in Halifax and director of mental health at the government of Nova Scotia Capital District Health Authority. "Housing is crucial but then there is a range of other issues related to that ... families knowing how to support people who are mentally ill, there's work, there's meaningful engagement in the community, there's a whole range of other issues." The specific projects within the program are still in development, but took a step toward solidification when the Stanton Territorial Health Authority and Dalhousie University signed a one-year contract last Wednesday which will set the foundation for a possible multi-year partnership. "This is not just for them to come in once and say they can fix everything," said Dr. Jim Corkal, medical director for the Stanton Territorial Health Authority. "Very much part of this is an integration of the Dalhousie team with the Department of Health and Social Services, and with Yellowknife ... so they can learn the on-the-ground system and they become true partners in the delivery and development of mental-health services in the North." Corkal said the program will run within the GNWT's mental health framework tabled earlier this year. The Dalhousie team has been in Yellowknife and around the NWT since August, and will return to Yellowknife every two months for two weeks. Initially, the arrangement is allowing patients greater access to psychiatric care, both in person and by video-conferencing with psychiatrists in Nova Scotia. "In my mind, one of the goals of this visit, and maybe some subsequent visits, is in fact to develop a clearer sense of what opportunities are, what collaborative opportunities, and move beyond goals to some specific objectives, some specific projects," said Croxall. Dr. Arlene MacDougall, who is completing her fellowship in the Dalhousie Global Psychiatry program, is a driving force in the partnership and will be doing much of the on-the-ground work for the program. While the Dalhousie Global Psychiatry team has done similar work with communities in the Amazon, the Caribbean, Africa, and others, sensitivity to the unique needs of Northerners will be vital to the program's success. "I think the first step is to have an awareness and being open to learning about the different cultural and historical factors that are fundamental to understand your patient and to the management of your patient," she said. "That's something that we're very aware of and it's something where we'll be more of a learner in that sense, coming to the North."
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